And now, we go overseas to syria, where people are fleeing amid fears that the assad regime will unleash chemical weapons. The region around the capital, damascus, now a battle zone. 2 million syrians now on the run, many of them children. And it is extremely difficult for journalists to enter that country andover the chaos. But abc's alex marquardt pushed across the border tonight and he is there. Alex? Reporter: We've spent the day among the thousands of refugees living here, and the conditions are miserable. Rain has turned the roads to rivers of mud, there's no power or gas for heat, and it's only getting colder by the day. The rain poured as we approached the crossing into syria. The first stop, a rebel checkpoint. TANKS AND MEN ARMED WITH AK-47s. Once past them, a narrow, winding road that led us to white tents in a sea of red mud. In it, the faces of this growing crisis. Children huddled around the only source of warmth -- a tiny campfire. They're part of the mass exodus, familiesleeing the crossfire of syria's bloody civil war. For them, life is dire and growing dangerous. Few here have their own jackets or shoes. It's growing colder by the day. There are fears the children are getting sicker. They get just one small bottle of water a day, per person. And for all 12,000 refugees, there are only four toilets, pouring into an open sewer. The risk of disease is real. Abu shakir says they'd leave, but the regime's warplanes keep bombing. In his family's tent, his cousin samira -- whose son and husband are two of the 40,000 killed -- chokes up, thinking about the future. "Life will never be the same again," she says. "Too much has happened." Yakzan shisaklym from houston, texas, manages the camp. And says they're desperate for international help. With winter coming, are you afraid you won't be able to support all these people? I mean, I can say we're trying our best, but I don't hit the we can support all these people. Reporter: Amid all this despair, there is dignity here and even glimpses of happiness and hope. As children sing and dream about a day with no more war. More camps are now being built here in syria and across the border in turkey, as this conflict approaches its two-year mark. There's no sign that this flood of ref ewe geechs are letting up. Diane?

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